Former vice president Mike Pence sought to distance himself from the extreme right-wing position of his party in an interview recorded days before the tragic attack on a gay nightclub, which has been linked to a growing wave of anti-LGBT hatred.
Mr. Pence was a guest on CBS’s Face the Nation last week when he was questioned by Margaret Brennan and where his comments were aired on Sunday. He was quizzed about the new law that the Senate of the United States just enacted to guarantee the legality of same-sex weddings.
Mr. Pence, unlike other conservatives in his party, was reluctant to accept the rhetoric of far-right commentators like Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo, and Tucker Carlson who have attempted to draw connections between LGBT Americans and pedophilia.
When asked if there should be a national law codifying same-sex marriage, former VP Pence tells @margbrennan he respects the “pronouncements” of the Supreme Court on the issue and that we as a nation need to “make it clear that we don't believe in discrimination against anyone.” pic.twitter.com/OGilXGGrPH
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 20, 2022
A fresh wave of violence and prejudice against LGBT people in both online and offline settings has been linked to the free-flowing claims of “grooming” against gay Americans that have arisen from this wing of the GOP. Mr. Pence instead urged members of his party to reject “discrimination,” adding that he accepted the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
Police in Colorado Springs identified a suspect and announced they had them in custody after a midnight attack on an LGBT club left five people dead and 14 more injured, making his words seem eerily predictive.
Others in the GOP have reversed course and spoken out against the massacre, only to draw fire from LGBT activists who accuse them of propagating the very ideology that has been held responsible for the tragedy.
Among these Republicans was Colorado congressman Lauren Boebert, who, after tweeting a brief message on Sunday, was later accused of supporting such attacks. A children’s hospital in Boston had been the target of a conspiracy campaign by far-right leaders prior to the shooting, which was followed by a wave of bomb threats.
